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CONTENT MARKETING REVISITED

So, you have a kickass website and you’re rocking your Facebook page and Instagram, but how are you going to really stand out from the pack?

A strong marketing plan also requires some creative and engaging content that can promote your practice in fresh, new ways. The overriding goal is to get your content in front of the right customers at the right time.

If it’s all about numbers, you are at risk of missing the point. Having thousands of people ‘get’ your content is not all that. Rather, getting hundreds of people to actually view, read, enjoy and engage with your content is a much more important milestone to strive for. Even if your content is seen by a vast audience, if it is not relevant to them, or they are not interested in what you offer, the content is ostensibly not serving a purpose to grow your brand and increase your profits.

In theory, content marketing is designed to create valuable, relevant and compelling information on a consistent basis to a targeted audience with the goal to stimulate activity and results for your company or brand. Ultimately your content should aim to build an audience that likes, trusts, and respects your brand.

Custom content marketing is on the rise. Real brand-specific content demonstrating your expertise through a range of modalities, including infographics, videos, photos, articles, podcasts, and blog posts is important in the current matrix of Google vs. Facebook, etc. For example, keeping up a meaningful blog on your main website is an important way for practices to produce custom content in-house on a regular basis. There are numerous other ways to produce content that your clients will want to read and share; email blasts, newsletters, e-books, and more.

Ensure that all of the content generated online from your practice integrates seamlessly with your other marketing activities and business goals. The tone, look and feel should be consistent throughout all platforms to stay on brand. By that, I don’t mean it should be identical or the same ol’ thing because that just becomes too predictable and boring over time. But it should have a running thread, a connection, and utilize the same brand colors, fonts (stick to 2, no more than 3), and key messages. For example, if you are marketing a high end, low volume practice and services, use language that conveys your positioning, rather than deals, discounts, and overly busy graphics and mixed messages.

Content should never exist just for its own sake; it should have a purpose, address the needs of your clients and patients, and effectively move them closer towards making a purchasing decision; i.e. coming in for a consultation, having a treatment, or buying a product.